


Unrequited

by LadyTabatha



Category: Fire Emblem Series, Fire Emblem: Fuukasetsugetsu | Fire Emblem: Three Houses
Genre: Alternate Universe - Soulmates, Gen, How Do I Tag, Possibly Unrequited Love, Rated T because I'm paranoid, it's MY fanfiction and I get to give Glenn a middle name, no beta we die like Glenn
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-03-06
Updated: 2020-03-06
Packaged: 2021-02-28 16:28:30
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,220
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23040226
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/LadyTabatha/pseuds/LadyTabatha
Summary: Ingrid Brandl Galatea is in love with Glenn Paul Fraldarius, and Sylvain Jose Gautier is in love with her.
Relationships: Ashe Duran | Ashe Ubert & Sylvain Jose Gautier, Ingrid Brandl Galatea/Sylvain Jose Gautier
Comments: 1
Kudos: 29





	Unrequited

Sylvain can see the strings. It’s a rare ability, he knows, but it’s not necessarily a good thing. Sometimes it feels like more of a curse than a blessing. For example: the case of one Ingrid Brandl Galatea. She adores her fiancé, Glenn Paul Fraldarius, and he loves her in return. Their families approve- it’s why they’re betrothed. The match is socially and politically advantageous for both House Galatea and House Fraldarius. It is, by all accounts, a perfect match.

There are just two tiny problems, things that no one knows but Sylvain. 

First: Glenn’s thread does not lead to Ingrid. It’s dull, meaning he hasn’t met his soulmate. The thread stretches far into the distance, toward the lands of House Ordelia- or, it does until it suddenly breaks one day. Glenn’s soulmate, whoever they are, is dead. 

Second: Ingrid’s thread does not lead to Glenn. It does not lead far off into the unknown. The string that loops around her wrist shines brightly and leads directly to Sylvain.

He shoves that fact to the back of his mind, ignoring it as much as possible. She’s happy with him. Not all soulmates are romantic. The bond just means that we’ll always be good friends.

Deep down, though, he knows the truth: Ingrid Brandl Galatea is in love with Glenn Paul Fraldarius, and Sylvain is in love with her.  
______________________________

When Glenn dies, Ingrid is devastated. Felix is angry. Dimitri is traumatized, although it’s not just because of Glenn. Sylvain, like Felix, is furious. Why did Glenn have to die? He was a good man, a good friend, a good fiancé, a good knight-

-a good brother.

That’s the core of it right there, the source of the burning rage: it’s not fair. It’s not fair that Glenn, who was a good brother- the kind of brother that Sylvain would give anything to have- was dead when Miklan was still alive.

It’s not that he wants to kill Miklan, not really. But Sylvain is tired of not being loved. He is tired of Miklan hating him, of his parents thinking of him as a tool, of being the friend that’s left out of all the inside jokes. (It’s not that his friends do it on purpose. But he’s older, and he’s the heir of House Gautier, and sometimes he can’t be there because he has duties that he must attend to.)

So Sylvain starts looking for love in all the wrong places, and it takes him years to realize what that’s doing to his friendships, to his life. He flirts with everything in a skirt, but he has one rule. He never, ever gets serious when a girl has a glowing red string. If she’s met her soulmate, then he’s not butting into the situation. Just because his soulmate situation is a mess doesn’t mean that he should screw up someone else’s.

He’ll still try to be witty and charming, of course, because that’s the kind of person he wants to be: someone confident, someone persuasive, someone who knows what he’s doing.   
_______________________________

He doesn’t expect to ever meet someone else who can see the strings. Which is why he is completely caught by surprise when Ashe, of all people, pulls him aside one afternoon.

“You have a soulmate, you know,” he says quietly. “It’s someone you’ve already met. You’re hurting them, I think, with the way you’re acting.”

Sylvain slumps immediately, hanging his head. “Yeah,” he whispers. “I know. It’s Ingrid.”

Ashe is shocked, and Sylvain can’t blame him. ‘Wait- you know? Then why are you-”

“Not now. Please.” 

Ashe looks a little doubtful, but he agrees. “We’re still talking about this later, you know.”

He knows.  
_________________________________

“Later” turns out to be that evening, when he finds Ashe sitting in his room.

“Let’s start at the beginning,” he says, without preamble. “You know Ingrid is your soulmate. That probably means you can see the strings, so you’ve probably known for a while. Your behavior when I brought it up suggests that you have feelings for her. And yet not only have you failed to act on these feelings, you actively flirt with nearly every other girl you meet. So I guess what I want to know is… why?”

“Why indeed,” Sylvain mutters. “You’re right. I can see the strings, I’ve been able to my whole life, and I am, in fact, in love with Ingrid. As for why… that’s a long story.”

“I have time.”

He takes a deep breath. “Ingrid is in love with a dead man.”

Ashe, understandably, looks confused. So he tells the story. At first he only means to talk about Glenn and Ingrid (they were in love and then he died, end of story), but soon it all comes spilling out: Glenn, Ingrid, Duscur… Miklan. Ashe already knows about Miklan, a little bit (disowned, bandit leader, stole the Lance of Ruin, turned into…), but he doesn’t know the whole story. No one knows the whole story but Sylvain, at least until now.

When he’s done, Ashe looks as angry as Sylvain’s ever seen. He looks as mad as he did when confronting the Bishop of the Western Church, which is saying something. He spits out a couple of curses, vile ones, words he never expected to hear from Ashe. It’s a little disorienting, to be honest. 

Ashe probably notices his confusion, because he starts to explain. “I lived on the streets when I was younger,” he says. “My parents died of the black fever. It was just me, Julie, and Nick- my younger siblings. I… was a thief.” He looks away, rubbing the back of his neck sheepishly. “A pickpocket, mostly, but a burglar when I had to be. I hated it. I hated myself for doing it. But it was the only way I could get enough money to feed Julie and Nick. And the smiles on their faces when I brought bread to the alley where we lived… made it hard to regret what I was doing. Of course, that all ended when Lord Lonato took us in- after I tried to rob him, no less.” He shakes his head, as if trying to dismiss the thought of Lonato. “My point is… an older brother is supposed to protect his siblings. Take care of them. And what Miklan did-” he spits the name as if it’s the filthiest curse in existence. “-he doesn’t deserve that title, now or ever.”

“Okay,” Sylvain says, nodding. “Okay.” He’s about to cry. Ashe isn’t defending him, not exactly, but to have someone so worked up on his behalf… it’s a nice feeling.

Ashe takes a few deep breaths, seems to calm down. “But about Ingrid,” he continues. “I still think you’re doing the wrong thing. Yes, Ingrid loved Glenn. Maybe she still does. But it’s been four years, Sylvain. And… she cares about you. A lot. I’m not sure if it’s romantic love, but it’s love all the same. And you’re hurting her. So if you’re really in love with her, and you want her to be happy, then you need to change your behavior.”  
____________________________________

The next time he sees Ingrid, he has flowers and an apology for her. She has a smile for him. And maybe they both have a future for each other.

**Author's Note:**

> this was supposed to be Sylgrid but ended up being more of a character study??? and then Ashe was there??? I don't know the characters just kinda took over on this one


End file.
